Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-30
FRUIT-GRowISG.
The Choicest Kinds of Fruit Grown to the
Greatest Perfection.


Greatest Perfection.
1t is well known that the almond is one
of the most shy bearing trees we have in
cultivation. Even in its native home
Persia, where it it is supposed to have been
brought from, it is not regular in its fruit
age. But so profitable is its crop, that
even if it bears but once in three wears, it
is yet deemed one of the best paying of
our many orchard trees. There is a grove
of almonds near Gridley, now several
years old, and of luxuriant growth, which,
since it has come into bearing, has never
missed a crop. 1t is the easiest crop for
the farmer to handle when removed dis
lance from market; not liable to glut, on
account of the restricted localities where it
will produce at all, and also that the
farmer can stow his crop, and await rise
in the market Shouldn't be low. The Pa
cific coast, besides, has almost monopoly
in growing this nut, SO few places are there
suitable for its qualification. The only
drawback we can see to its culture at Grid
ley at the present time is the number of
woodpeckers, whose tastes, though artifci-
ally acquired, runstrongly toward almonds,
from the time they set till they are
ripened and harvested. But the small boy
(and they are plenty here, too), with
shotgun, will soon remove this evil.
PEACH-GRowING.
Peach growing, like other fruits, is yet
in its infancy, but those that have been
raised are of an exceptionally fine flavor,
size and appearance The character of
the soil has everything to do with the color,
oughly proven by practice that dark clay
soils, while producing peaches in abund-
anee, and of great size, fail to give to them
that rich golden color and reddish blush
so typical Of the perfect peach, and that
for some reason peaches raised on dark
clay soil have an excess of acid which de-
stroys the peculiar peach flavor which
makes them one of the most delicious of
all fruits Sandy or light-colored, rich,
well-drained, warm soils are pre-eminently
the home of the peach, and where
it reaches its greatest perfection.
precisely the kind OF soil, drainage,
ETC. that we find here at Grid
ley. 1t Is well known that
the peach is almost as semi-tropical in its
characteristics as the orange, needing
warm climate to bring it to perfection, es-
pecially at the time of ripening. GridIey
possesses all these in a greater degree than
any portion of ths State. Other parts
may have one OF more, but it is rarely that
any section has them all so harmoniously
combined. The number Of bearing peach
trees in this vicinity, on the live-oak
lands, at present is not very great, but
those which are producing come fully up
to what would be expected from locality
so beneticently endowed. Peach orchards
for market purposes are now being set out
on a large scale, acres of which will come
into bearing the first time this season.
The trees all have a splendid growth, are
perfectly straight and symmetrical, no
lean being observed on any of the trees. 10
indicate from what direction the prevail
ing winds blow Their cultivation Is per-
fiction, the friability of the soil and
absence of weeds making easy work for the
farmer.
FINE APRIcoTs.
This is another fruit for which Califor-
MIA is singularly we'll adapted. reaching
the greatest perfection in many portions.
1t has been tested satisfactorily in this re-
gion, though not on large scale, and the
fruit hangs well on the tree till ripe. One
Of the great objections to the more extern
sive cultivation of this fruit is its liability
to falling from the trees after setting.
Some varieties have this failing SO many
years in succession as to necessitate their
removal and the abandonment of apricot
culture. We do not know the variety
cultivated here, but from those who have
raised them we have heard no complaint of
not producing abundantly and constantly.
APPLES, PEARS, ETC.
In this vicinity many apple and pear
trees are planted out, but not in large
numbers, or in orchards, wheat having alb